Game's up. Investors have heard the boy cry wolf too many times in the nation's capital. And they aren't falling for it this time. There was no panicked selling in the stock market over the federal government's temporary shutdown. The government began closing about a third of its operations Tuesday, and investors went their merry way and ignored it. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 62 points to 15,191 despite the shutdown. The expectation is that politicians will...

* Firm's ties to alleged conspiracy not established * Shareholders allege conspiracy not to "jump" others' deals * Lawyer for shareholders says to pursue class certification By Jonathan Stempel Aug 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. lawsuit accusing private equity firms of conspiring not to outbid each other on companies they sought to buy now has one fewer defendant, after Thomas H. Lee Partners LP persuaded a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss the case against...

Police on Thursday were investigating the fatal shooting of a Blue Island man on a Harvey street. Thomas Lee, 20, was shot in what appeared to be a robbery at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday at 147th Street and Loomis Avenue, authorities said. Lee, of the 2200 block of West 120th Place, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterward, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Harvey police...

Police on Thursday were investigating the fatal shooting of a Blue Island man on a Harvey street. Thomas Lee, 20, was shot in what appeared to be a robbery at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday at 147th Street and Loomis Avenue, authorities said. Lee, of the 2200 block of West 120th Place, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterward, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Harvey police...

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is examining equipment and safety procedures to understand how a construction worker fell to his death Tuesday at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. Thomas Lee, 46, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., was part of a Campanella & Sons crew dismantling the Splash Water Falls ride when he died after falling more than 40 feet. "He was part of our family; he was one of our safest," said Suzanne Zupec, president of Campanella &...

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved the $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc. by Thomas H. Lee Partners Inc. and Bain Capital LLC, according to two people at the agency. The 5-0 vote was taken in private by members of the agency, two FCC staff members said Thursday. They requested anonymity because the decision has not been made public. The deal still requires approval by the Justice...

A 16-year-old girl remained in serious condition Monday after she and an 18-year-old woman were shot over the weekend in what police said was a gang-related incident. Ramona Walton, of North Ridgeway Avenue, was shot twice, once in the lower back and chest, said a Cook County Hospital spokeswoman. The shooting occurred early Sunday as Walton and several other girls were standing on the street in the 4000 block of West Division Street, said Grand-Central Area Violent Crimes Sgt....

A lawsuit against Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP in connection with its representation of Refco Inc. alleges that the prominent Chicago law firm "repeatedly misled" an investor about bogus transactions that led to the commodities firm's failure in 2005. Buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, which filed the suit in federal court in New York on Thursday, seeks damages of more than $245 million. Lee lost the value of its controlling stake in Refco when the commodities...

Phillip Bennett, the former chief executive of Refco Inc., resigned from the bankrupt broker's board of directors Friday after a federal judge directed Refco to replace all its board members. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain had said he would appoint a trustee to run the company should Refco fail to replace the board members. Bennett was fired as CEO and arrested in October after disclosing he hid $430 million in debt. Refco filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 17. Bennett...

The perverse beauty of Hollywood moviemaking is that sometimes the story behind the creation of a film is more intriguing than the film itself. Such is the case with "Supernova," a big-budget space adventure that opened last Friday without advance press screening. If you stick around for the closing credits, you'll notice the project is directed by Thomas Lee. Except there is no such person. Thomas Lee is an invented name (a la Alan Smithee) that was plastered on this wounded...

When they made their debut more than a century ago, Adirondack chairs were built of hemlock and painted a dark green or brown. But even as change has come to their basic design, so too have new materials and colors found their way into this American classic. Alder, cedar, Asian fir, teak, mahogany and even recycled plastic are just a few of the substances from which Adirondack chairs are now fashioned, and that dark green and brown, first supplanted by weathered gray or white, has blossomed...